I've eaten so many good meals this
year, and while some of them are a blur, a few dishes haunt my dreams. In no
particular order:1. The soft-as-a-whisper braised beef tongue with
aioli at M. Wells Dinette.
2. Tingly tea-smoked chicken that almost blew my head off at Mission Chinese Food.
2. Tingly tea-smoked chicken that almost blew my head off at Mission Chinese Food.
3. Unbelievably creamy
black beans with avocado leaves at Fonda.
4. Full belly Ipswich clam
rolls at Littleneck.
5. Super-tender short ribs crisped up in the wood-burning oven at Il Buco Alimentari (pictured above).
7. Handmade burrata with black fig & smoked chili -- oh, and the organic chicken liver mousse with dried cherries and Marcona almonds -- and also the butter drenched in honey served with warm bread at Arthur on Smith.
9. Smoked trout spread, fresh herbs, saltines (the
nation's most underrated cracker), cornichons and smoked salt at Extra Fancy.
10. The wonderfully weird shrimp and bison with pickled wild grapes at Acme.
10. The wonderfully weird shrimp and bison with pickled wild grapes at Acme.
Photo of Il Buco short ribs by Dave Sanders via The New York Times.
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